The Rangers’ season-long, six-game road trip is off to a good start, as the Blueshirts completed a sweep of the two games in New Jersey to kick off the trip, beating the Devils, 6-3, Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The Rangers have won three straight and six of eight.
For the second straight game, though, the Rangers may have suffered a significant injury late in the third period. Mika Zibanejad went down awkwardly with a little over a minute left and got up slowly and skated off slowly. He appeared to be in some discomfort on the bench at the end of the game.
Adam Fox’s coast-to-coast power-play goal got the Rangers started early, giving them a 1-0 lead at 2:06 of the first period, and Kaapo Kakko, returning to the lineup after missing six games while on the COVID-19 list, helped double the lead, when he stole the puck in the Devils’ zone to help set up Ryan Strome’s goal that made it 2-0, at 7:15 of the period.
Two goals, 17 seconds apart late in the period, by P.K. Subban and Mikhail Maltsev, pulled New Jersey even, at 2-2, but ex-Devil Kevin Rooney finished a two-on-one pass from Filip Chytil to put the Rangers (10-9-3) back in front before the first period was over. Libor Hajek’s first goal in two seasons, at 1:05 provided insurance, and Chytil, playing his third game since returning from a broken hand, tacked on another at 8:38 of the third period, to make it 5-2.
Nathan Bastian got a late goal to pull the Devils within 5-3, but Strome scored into an empty net to close the scoresheet.
Alexandar Georgiev, starting in goal with Igor Shesterkin out with a groin strain, made 24 saves to earn his third straight victory. Shesterkin, who was injured late in Thursday’s 6-1 win over the Devils in the opener of the road trip, is said to be day-to-day.
Keith Kinkaid came off the taxi squad to dress as the backup goaltender.
